Delivery of Cancer Therapeutics Using Nanotechnology

Abstract

Nanoparticles have been investigated as drug carriers, because they provide a great opportunity due to their advantageous features: (i) various formulations using organic/inorganic materials, (ii) easy modification of targeting molecules, drugs or other molecules on them, (iii) effective delivery to target sites, resulting in high therapeutic efficacy and (iv) controlling drug release by external/internal stimuli. Because of these features, therapeutic efficacy can be improved and unwanted side effects can be reduced. Theranostic nanoparticles have been developed by incorporating imaging agents in drug carriers as all-in-one system, which makes it possible to diagnose and treat cancer by monitoring drug delivery behavior simultaneously. Recently, stimuli-responsive, activatable nanomaterials are being applied that are capable of producing chemical or physical changes by external stimuli. By using these nanoparticles, multiple tasks can be carried out simultaneously, e.g., early and accurate diagnosis, efficient cataloguing of patient groups of personalized therapy and real-time monitoring of disease progress. In this paper, we describe various types of nanoparticles for drug delivery systems, as well as theranostic systems.

Liposome as nanocarrier: Site targeted delivery in lung cancer

“…A variety of biomolecular markers have been discovered which are undeniably expressed itself in the cancer, and are helpful in improving the cancer understandings and as a result the targeted cancer therapies obtained [23]. Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) possess tuneable shape, size, surface chemistry and many therapeutic implementations.…”

Nano-based drug delivery system

“…After SLNs are characterized, the third most important step is their application according to the desired properties. Different applications have been studied in the literature, especially in cancer treatment: (i) chemotherapeutic drugs incorporated into SLNs to eliminate their disadvantages and overcome MDR, (ii) gene therapy (delivery of peptides, genes, miRNA, siRNA into cells), (iii) drug targeting, new adjuvants for vaccines, treatment of infectious diseases, cosmetic and dermatological preparations and agricultural applications [268][269][270][271][272][273][274][275][276][277][278][279][280][281][282][283]. Figure 5.…”

Nanotherapeutics in Cancer Prevention, Diagnosis and Treatment

“…They have the ability to form hydrogels and are used for drug encapsulation or drug conjugation [38]. Under the right conditions, pluronics, the most well-known thermosensitive polymers, form a hydrogel at body temperature but are water soluble at 2-4°C.…”